Alfred Marcus

Alfred Marcus (37096158) was drafted into the US Army on 2 December 1941. He left from Willmarfor Fort Snelling to begin processing into the Army. That weekend he had off, and came back homefor the time. On Sunday morning, 7 December, he heard about the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Hewasn’t supposed to be so far away from Fort Snelling so he scrambled to return to Minneapolis bythat afternoon. He was sent to Fort Polk Louisianawhere he began his basic training. He was assigned tothe 32nd Armored Regiment, Third Armored Division.Alfred said that basic training was ok, nothing to com-plain about. He says that they were treated pretty goodand he spent a lot of time working with the tanks. Hestayed at Fort Polk for about three months.

After graduation, Marcus was sent to Fort KnoxKentucky for Radio Operators School. While there helearned Morse Code. His radio school lasted aboutanother three months and he was sent back to his unitat Fort Polk. The unit was preparing for desert maneu-vers in the Mojave Desert in California.

In June 1942 the 32nd went to the desert trainingcenter in the Mojave Desert. Alfred recalls that thetemperature in the desert was around 143 degreeswhen they arrived. Around 25-30% of the menpassed out from the heat. The unit was expecting tobe going into North Africa when they left the UnitedStates. The training that they received in the desertwas to prepare them for the fight in Africa.

On one day during the desert training, Alfred wasasked by his company commander to take a Navyguy for a ride. The Naval officer had been gripingabout how tough he had it so Alfred’s CO told him togive him a ride, but don’t kill him. Marcus took theNavy guy out in the tank through some of the rough-est ground that he could find. The two went offabout a four foot drop and were rattled around. The Navy guy was trying to stand in the turret whenthey dropped and when the tank came down, he fell and broke his leg. When they got back to thebase Alfred helped the guy out and was worried that he might get in trouble, but nothing was saidabout it.

One day while in the Mojave, Alfred was granted a leave to visit a friend that was in the hospital inSan Diego, about 300 miles away. He ended up hitch hiking the whole way there.First he rode in anArmy truck for 50 miles or so. Then he was able to catch a ride with a women that was in themovies and her parents and dog to El Centro. After that he rode in the back of a dry ice truck, andhe says he nearly froze.

In early October 1942, the division was transferred to Camp Pickett Virginia. They traveled there bytroop train. They continued their training in Virginia for about three months. In mid January theywere sent to Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania. On one occasion they were called upon to go toWilksbury Pennsylvania to help end a coal miner strike that was going on. They loaded their tanksand weapons with live ammunition and were told to used them if needed. They were there to getthe workers back to work. By the time they got up there, however, the strike was over.

In early August 1943 they were alerted for Overseas service and moved to Camp Kilmer and FortDix in New Jersey. While there, they heard talks about censorship and security, received shots, andgot physicals. In September, they boarded trains for New York Harbor and boarded troop transportships.

Alfred’s trip across the Atlantic was extremely rough. There were multiple ships in the convoy goingover and at times the waves got so high that Alfred couldn’t see the others around them. Many ofthe men on board fell ill with sea sickness. Alfred also got sick from the sea, but not so bad to haveto throw up like many of the others.

Alfred’s platoon was assigned a special detail to help out in the kitchen. One time while in thekitchen the waves shifted things so much that a bunch of sausage that were on the table werethrown onto the floor. No problem to the cook, he just picked them up and set them back on thetable to serve. Alfred also remembers the cook having a broom handle type stick that he used as awalking stick to keep him up on the slippery and sticky floors on ship. This was also his stir stickwhen making oatmeal, but it wasn’t cleaned in between uses.

After 14 days at sea, Alfred landed in Liverpool England. The regiment was stationed at CodfordWiltshire and trained over Britain’s Salisbury Plains. Alfred’s camp was at Codford St. Mary, a smallvillage and they lived in 10’ x 12’ quonset huts. Eight men lived in each hut. All of their maneuverswere held in the plains.

Marcus remembers an instance when he andanother man, Floyd Bell, saw a rabbit go downinto a hole in the ground. After examining thehole they realized that it was just a short tunnel.Floyd put his hand down one side of the tunneland Alfred put his down the other. Both menpulled out a rabbit. They roasted the rabbitsover an open fire for a simple easy meal.Another time the two men caught a rooster froma nearby farmer and made a kettle of chickensoup. They thought that these meals were anice change of pace from the K-Rations thatthey had gotten from the Army.

While in England Alfred had the chance to do some traveling andsightseeing. Stonehenge was within walking distance from theirtraining area and he ventured out to that. He was extremelyimpressed by this sight. He says “I often marvel at how thosestones were brought there from miles away.” Marcus also sawthe Pembrooke Castle in Whales. He traveled to London andsaw Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Nelson Monument inHyde Park. He traveled to see Westminster Abby and also sawthe house of Parliament. At the Parliament he had a lunch ofpigeon meat, which he thought was good.

During his travels in London Alfred did have to go into the subway station for a bomb shelter duringthe Luftwaffe air raids. Even during training he recalled hearing the “Buzz Bombs” going overhead,but most of the raids were focused on London. The US soldiers were well received by the Englishas far as Alfred could see. He doesn’t recall any of them being mean or anything to them.

The unit spent nine months training in England preparing for the crossing of the English Channeland the invasion of France, what is now known as D-Day. In the days before the invasion, Alfredand the rest of the regiment spent their time preparing their tanks for landing. They all had to bewaterproofed. Extensions were put onto the exhaust systems to bring the exhaust up above theexpected water line. They prepared and planned to be landing in about 4-6 feet of water. They alsohad to seal up any holes and seams in the tank and coat all moving parts with cosmoline. The menknew that once this was all in place, they still had to de-waterproof the tanks after landing ashore.The men in the tanks couldn’t see out once they were in and couldn’t move the turret, so the tankswere not battle ready right off the beach.

On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Airborne and Infantry men landed on the shores of Normandy to establish abeachhead for the landing of the tanks and other vehicles needed for the battle against theGermans. Before leaving France, Alfred recalls listening to General Eisenhower when he came outto see them off. He also Saw General Bernard Law Montgomery, the British General.

Army K-Ration

Alfred’s group landed on OmahaBeach a few days after D-Day, about23 June as he recalls. They landed,as expected, in 4-6 feet of water anddrove their tanks onto the shore whenthe tide went out. They began to takeall of the waterproofing off the tanks tobe ready for battle.

Alfred and the men of the 32nd didn’tencounter any enemy resistance whenthey landed. The men, as Alfreddescribes them, were very tense andscared since leaving England. Theyworked getting their tanks ready forbattle, preparing for the fight that theyknew was coming, but constantlythought about the task before them.The process of getting the tanks battle

ready took about a day, and then the regiment took off into France, on edge, but ready to fight.

It didn’t take long for Alfred to come into contact with the German forces. Within a day or two, asAlfred recalls, the division began what would be 118 days straight of enemy combat. It was appar-ent early on that the men were on edge. During the first two days of fighting alone Alfred says thatin his tank only they fired over 5,000 rounds of ammunition. That included both the 37mm cannonand the three .30 cal machine guns. He says that they were a little trigger happy and would rathershoot to keep the enemy down rather than wait to give them a chance to present themselves. Thefirst two days of combat was stiff, only gaining 1,500 yards in 2 days, 29 - 30 June.

Alfred and the 32nd Armored Regiment crossed the Vireo river at St. Jean de Daye and repelled aGerman attack attempting to cut the Normandy beachhead on July 8-12.

Alfred’s memories of his personal feelings are summed up in the fact that he only ate half of one canof a K-Ration over the first two days of combat. He says that he was just too scared to eat. K-Rations consisted of a can of some sort of food, a couple of ounce candy bar, and a few crackers. Itwas all contained in a box, about the size of a Cracker Jack box. In combat, the empty boxesserved as their toilet, since they were not able to get out of the tank to do their duty. Alfred explains,“trying to do B.M. in a Cracker Jack box was not easy while sitting in a tank. A person loses most ofones modesty in war areas.”

Alfred was assigned to Bravo Company, 32nd Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Division. He wasassigned to a light tank. These offered much more protection than a regular infantryman had, butthe light tank’s armor was no match against the German tanks or heavy artillery. Their primaryobjective was to combat German infantry and light artillery and mortars.

Alfred says that the first weeks in combat were the worst, especially seeing some of his buddies“looking like hamburger”. He says “it is very hard to shoot at people and to kill them. But when theyare trying to kill us...then a person kind of forgets..and thinks of them as an animal.”

The landscape of France was full of Hedge-rows, whichonly had one opening in them to pass through. This madechasing the enemy out difficult. Alfred recalls on one nightthey pulled into one hedgerow area that had Germantanks on the other side. The hedges were too high to getover or to shoot over. The German tanks were therebefore they were, and Alfred’s group didn’t even knowthey were there. The Germans heard them and took off atfirst light.

On another occasion in the hedgerows, a German tankwas parked on the other side. As soon as the German tank commander realized that they werethere, and a dozen US Tanks staring down at him, he stood up, shouted “Heil Hitler”, and shot him-self. This action was something that surprised Alfred.

The days in combat were the same. It didn’t matter if it was Sunday or Wednesday. On a very rareoccasion did Alfred recall having anything like a church service while in combat. Generally they did-n’t want to assemble too much and leave themselves as a target for the Germans.

On one night early on in Alfred’s combat experience a couple of men from his group were killed. BillStefanick and David Bond took their tarp to make a lean-to against their tank to sleep under,stretched out with no rain to bother them. That night a large German artillery shell landed goingthrough the tarp, and killed both men. Most nights, Alfred and the men slept under or inside theirtanks. This event clinched that concept.

The men carried their sleeping bags or blankets in their duffel bags. Their bags were carried on theoutside of the tanks. Generally, they did not get out of the tanks as this would pose an undue risk.They would try to take care of any “Nature Calling” early before they moved out, when the area wasfairly secure. After moving out, the K-ration box was all the amenities that they had.

Alfred says that as a whole the civilian popula-tion in France were quite friendly towardsthem. At times the civilians would even dig upa bottle of wine to give to the American libera-tors. Alfred did witness a couple of Frenchmenburying a dead Nazi soldier, but they left hisfeet sticking out of the ground. After havingcovered the body with soil, the men urinatedon the dead mans exposed feet. Alfred alsosaw women going around towns with all oftheir hair shaved off. He found out that theywere collaborators with the Germans workingagainst the Allies.

As Alfred moved across France, they tookmany German prisoners. On one occasion, he

watched a German get captured, and when the American soldier asked his superiors what to do withhim, they told him to do whatever. The American in turn shot the German. This bothered Alfredextensively. He suspects that the shooter thought he was getting even for some of his friends beingkilled, but the event didn’t sit well with Alfred.

Female French Collaborators

Throughout July 1944, the 32nd Armored Regiment pushed and fought their way farther away fromthe beachhead. On 27 July they attacked north of Canisy to aid in the St. Lo breakthrough. On the27th and 28th of July they advanced against enemy resistance to Cerisy La Salle and Rouncy, leav-ing destroyed enemy vehicles in their wake and capturing and killing hundreds of enemy soldiers.

On July 30 they crossed the Sienne River near Gavray France, meeting more enemy resistance.On 31 July they secured a bridgehead across the See River by fording the stream after building upthe bed with rocks.

In August 1944, one of Alfred’s friends in his unit, Maxwell Peacock, was captured by the Germans.Out of four men in the tank, two were killed, Maxwell and another man were captured. They weredriven off to prison camp in the back of a truck. Alfred remembers clearly watching the truck driveaway, unable to shoot for fear they might hit the Americans. Maxwell weighed 135 pounds uponrelease.

Throughout August 1944 Alfred and the men of the 32nd Armored Regiment fought their way deeperinto France. The push involved almost constant contact with the enemy. On 6 August they securedthe bridgehead across the Mayenne River. On 13 and 14 August, after crossing the river, theyadvanced 45 miles into France, leaving a trail of destroyed and burning enemy equipment and vehi-cles in their wake. On 16 August, they met up with British forces and effectively cut off the Germanretreat to the east from Normandy. Alfred continued northeast and they liberated French town aftertown, crossing the Marne River on 27 August.

On 2 September Alfred crossed into Belgium, and into the intense battle for he village of Mons. Thefight into Mons cost the German Army severely. Over 2,000 enemy soldiers were taken prisoner.The passage through Belgium was short. The German forces appeared to be on the run, but resist-ance was met continually. One night around dusk, Alfred recalls the people of the town celebratingthe American liberation. The American soldiers were showered with hugs and kisses. He saw a lit-tle girl he thought to be around 6 years old or so come up to shake his hand. As a good nature ges-ture to the “little girl” he picked her up, one hand under each arm. It was then that he realized thatthis little girl was actually a little 18-20 year old lady, and he recalls that he “felt a little embarrassed.”Near Liege Belgium, Alfred recalls the unit taking around 3,000 enemy prisoners, which were turnedover to the Service Company to be taken care of.

On 12 September 1944, Alfred reached theGerman boarder, and with it the Siegfried Line.The Siegfried Line was a man made fortificationalong the German border. They had made largeconcrete pillars to try to make the passage intoGermany impossible. These large pillars werecalled “Dragon’s Teeth.” To pass over these, theAmericans built large ramps over the Dragon’sTeeth.

German resistance upon entry into their countrywas stiff. The 32nd Armored destroyed several88mm guns, and six concrete pillboxes, sustain-ing heavy casualties. Alfred recalls trying toexamine one of the pillboxes, but a few shotsfrom a German sniper changed his mind.

The Siegfried Line, guarding the entrance intoGermany. The concrete “Dragon’s Teeth” weremeant to deter mobility through the area.

In one of the first towns that Alfred and the other Americans reached in Germany, Morburg byAlfred’s recollection, the Bergermiester, or mayor, of the city came out of a bomb shelter, saw theAmerican advance, shouted “Heil Hitler” and shot himself. Upon further investigation in the town,they found that the mayor had also shot his wife and daughter, but had not killed them.

At one time the Germans had picked up the US radio frequency, so Alfredand the 32nd was unable to use their radios. The Battalion Commandercame to Alfred’s Company Commander with a message that needed to bebrought to a task force located north of them. The Company Commanderasked Alfred to carry the message, by tank over open terrain and Germanfire. Alfred started out, going as fast as he could go, hearing blasts fromGerman Artillery. Each of the rounds was getting closer and closer.Finally, Alfred ordered his driver to slow, almost to a stop, and the nextrounds went ahead of them about 200 feet. After a couple of more shotsfrom the Germans, each getting closer, Alfred had the driver “step on it”and the next shells landed behind. They made the whole trip this way, anddelivered the message. Alfred was awarded the Distinguished ServiceMedal for his actions from delivering this message.

They moved into Germany and assisted in the capture of Stolberg by 18September. When Alfred came into town, most of the German Army wasgone, but there were still snipers in the city. As Alfred recalls, “the Lieutenantfrom the 1st platoon asked me if I would be willing to go with him to locate thesnipers. I agreed and we had to get them before they’d get us. They werehiding out in a big castle...we won.” He was awarded the Bronze Star forthis action. He also remembers going into this castle, a large former soapfactory, where men and women were gathered for the promotion and “manu-facture” of the Aryan race, Hitler’s choice race.

One day while crossing some plains, Alfred saw a pear tree withfresh pears on it. He thought he would get out and get some

pears for his crew, but all of a sudden the Germans began firing at them from about 300 yards away.The Germans were positioned behind some farm buildings. Alfred did get a few pears before scur-rying back to his tank. At his tank, he saw a German Panzer Tank moving in to his right. Alfredradioed for air support to assist with the Panzer, since his tank would be no match. The air strikecame in a wiped out the tank, and Alfredand his unit took around 250 prisoners with-out losing a single GI.

Alfred and his unit stayed in Stolbergthrough September, all of October and intoNovember. As the weather grew colder, themen fought cold, and the Germans. On 24and 25 November they participated in anattack to oust German salient in the vicinityof Northberg. They fought and pushed theGermans back through the rest of the monthand into December, finally pushing theenemy over the Roer river on 12 December1944.

Distinguished ServiceMedal, awarded toAlfred.

Bronze StarMedal awardedto Alfred

They recieved orders to return back to Belgium to help stall the German advance in the Ardennes, inwhat is now known as the Battle of the Bulge. The 32nd was set to fight over a very large front,from Manhay to Marche, beating down numerous German attacks.

Prior to the Battle of the Bulge, Alfred had the chance to meet up and get together with a couple ofhis friends from back home, Ed Sweirenga and Chester Roelofs. The men got together and spentsome time catching up and visiting. The three men only had about 3 hours to be together, but at thetime, they didn’t realize that it would be the last time the three would all see each other. ChesterRoelofs was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge on 19 December 1944.

On 28 December 1944, Alfred was tasked with leading another tank into the woods to try to makecontact with the Germans, to see where they were located. Alfred and another tank started out, andnot far into the woods Alfred hear an explosion behind him. The second tank had hit a land mine.Two of Alfred’s friends, Dexter Wilson and Arnold Thornberg were killed in the explosion. Alfredsays, “why I didn’t get hit I do not know because they followed directly behind me. It was only amatter of inches to the right or left of my exact tacks that the tank behind me followed. Once again Ihad a Guardian Angel.”

In January, Alfred and the 32nd made an attack against the Germans in snow and mist north ofLierneux. In some of the most severe winter weather, they fought and battled fanatical Germanresistance, pushing a mere 1,000 yards a day at times. During this time Alfred’s tank was hit by anartillery shell and tore the track apart. Alfred had to stay behind his column and try to repair it.When they caught up to the others, Alfred’s tank was detailed with the task of acting as an ambu-lance, due to the fact regular ambulances were unsafe for passing through the lines.

On 3 January 1945, serving as an ambulance was what Alfred wasdoing. He had a wounded soldier laying on the outside of the tank,being transported behind the lines for medical attention. An incominground exploded near Alfred’s tank. The wounded man almost had hisleg severed from the blast and shrapnel. Alfred had his head lookingout of the tank, watching the wounded man. Marcus was hit in the leftside of his head and left elbow with shrapnel from the round. Hewas awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds.

By the tail end of January, the Germans were losing their offensive inBelgium. The Battle of the Bulge ended and the German Army wason the run. After the Battle of the Bulge, Alfred returned to Stolberg,and prepared to cross the Roer River. The German resistance blew adam on the river and caused it to swell making it difficult to pass. The32nd Armored finally got across on 26 and 27 February and pushedtheir way into the Cologne plains attacking a well dug in Germanenemy.

On 3 March 1945, one of Alfred’s pals was sitting in his tank with the hatches closed waiting. AGerman artillery shell came in right on top of his position. Alfred ran over to see if he could help, butis was too late, his friend, Donald Bailey, was killed. Alfred opened the hatch and lifted him out. “Idon’t know where I recieved the strength to do this as he weighed between 250 - 300 pounds.”

Days after Bailey’s death, Alfred and the 32nd reached and took Cologne, reaching the Rhine River.

They crossed the Rhineriver at Remagen Bridge,and attacked north, clear-ing enemy from the areasouth of the Siege River.

On 24 March, the 32ndand Marcus launched apre-dawn attack that sur-prised the enemy nearAsbach. For two days theenemy kept up it’s resist-ance, but eventually crum-bled and a breakthroughwas achieved. The nextday they capturedHachenburg Germany andbridges on the Dill River atHerborn.

On 29 March Alfred began the trek to Paderborn. The 32nd Armored traveled 90 miles in one dayovertaking, destroying, or capturing hundreds of German trucks and supply vehicles. On 30 Marchthey met heavy resistance against an SS Panzer Training Regiment near the city.

On 31 March 1945 the Third Armored Division (which Alfred’sunit was a part) Commander, Major General Maurice Rose, waskilled in the woods near Paderborn. The General’s jeep camearound a corner and found himself surrounded by numerousGerman tanks. The General pulled out his side arm to surren-der when an over zealous German soldier misunderstood theGeneral’s intentions and shot him. General Rose has beenconsidered one of the best Commanders of the War, but is littleknown as he was a fairly private man and didn’t have his namein the headlines like General Patton. He chose to lead his menfrom the front of his division.

On 1 April, Paderborn was taken. Connection was made withthe 9th Division effectively enveloping the Ruhr Industrial areaof Germany. On 5 April they pushed east and fought troopsalong the Weser River, crossing the river on 8 April atVeckerhagen. Thus opening the door through the heart ofGermany.

On 11 April 1945, members of the 3rd Armored Division liberat-ed the Nordhausen Concentration Camp near Nordhausen

Germany. Initial estimates put 3,000 dead at the camp and 2,000 still alive, but only barely. Alfredrecalls coming into the area of the camp. He saw four prisoners eating off the carcass of a deadhorse, crawling with maggots. They just wanted something to eat. They couldn’t walk, only crawl.Many of the prisoners were suffering from tuberculosis, and most were suffering from extreme star-vation. They were only fed potato peels, one slice of bread, and something to drink all day.

Major General Maurice Rose26 November 1899 - 31 March 1945

Remagen Bridge

From here on, Alfred notes that the resistance became light. The German Army was all but beaten.They crossed the Saale River pushing northeast, meeting sporadic German attacks and beatingthem down. Alfred and the 32nd pushed to within miles of Berlin, but it was determined that theRussians would be the ones to liberate the German Capital.

They were relieved from combat on 25 April 1945 near the city of Dessau. On 7 May GermanColonel General Alfred Jodl signed the instrument of surrender in Reims France. The War inEurope was over.

The Third Armored Division was sent back to Frankfort Germany to set up their post war positions.Alfred was stationed in a small town called Eppertshausen, where he says they “stayed to eat,sleep, and get fat.” He actually had a chance to go deer hunting a couple of times near here andone time shot one. He brought it to a family on the edge of town and was invited for dinner. Heremembers fondly how good that fresh venison dinner tasted after months of rations. Alfred alsorecalled that they began to have regular church services againtoo. They were held in a large room above an old tavern.

In September, Alfred was sent back to the United States and land-ed at Camp Grant New York. From here he shipped home hissouveniers and collectables. He was allowed to take one gunhome, but somehow he managed to dismantle and send sixhome. On 28 September 1945 Alfred Marcus was discharged asa Staff Sergeant from the US Army. He had been sent to CampMcCoy Wisconsin for processing out, and took a train back toRenville Minnesota to become a civilian once again.

After the war, Alfred was mar-ried, bought a farm nearPrinsburg, and raised threechildren.

Nazi knife and pistol, a couple ofthe souviniers brought home byAlfred.

Medals awarded toAlfred Marcus

Alfred Marcus today. Marcusstill fits into his uniform andwears for the Memorial Dayprograms in Prinsburg.

On 9 June 2007, the State of Minnesota dedi-cated the World War II Memorial on the Capitalgrounds in St. Paul. Alfred joined a contingentfrom Willmar who attended the event.

When the veterans arrived, they were eachpresented with a special medal in recognitionof their service in World War II.

Following their presentations, they were invitedto look over numerous displays of WWII eraequipment and nostalgia. A special dedicationprogram also took place, with Governor TimPawlenty speaking. Aircraft flyovers also high-lighted the day. Everyone in attendance wastreated with celebration cake.

Alfred Marcus with his MN WWII medalgiven to him by Blue Star Mother JackieRasset.

On October 1st & 2nd, 2010, Alfredtraveled to Washington D.C. on HonorFlight, southwest Minnesota. This washis first time seeing the WWII Memorialin DC

Alfred joined over 100 other World WarII veterans from Minnesota on the tripwhich toured the WWII Memorial,Korean, Vietnam, Lincoln, Navy, MarineCorps, and Air Force memorials,Arlington National Cemetery, and theSmithsonian Air and Space Museum.

The whirlwind trip showed Alfred appre-ciation and honor for his service in theUS Army during World War II.

Alfred left Luverne Minnesota about5am on 1 October, traveling to SouixFalls South Dakota to fly out to DC.After arriving in the District, the groupimmediately went to the World War IIMemorial. The veterans were able totour the grounds for approximately 2hours, and took a group photo beforetheir departure.

They traveled down the mall to theLincoln, Korean, and Vietnam memori-als, spending a couple of hours therebefore heading to Arlington Virginiawhere they stayed the night. At thehotel, they were treated to a hero’s banquet.On 2 October, they went to the NavyMemorial, Marine Corps Memorial, andArlington where they witnessed theChanging of the Guard at the Tomb ofthe Unknown Soldier.

Enroute to Dulles to fly out, theystopped at the Air & Space Museum,seeing the Enola Gay on display, theairplane that helped end the war.

Although a rapid trip, Marcus loved theexperience. “it was a trip of a lifetime”he recalls.

Alfred at the D-Day sectionof the WWII Memorial

Group photo of all the veteranson the Honor Flight in 2010.

Marcus, left, with Gus Hoffer atthe base of the Lincoln Memorial

On 12 November 2010, Alfred along with threeother Combat Wounded Veterans were present-ed with the American Patriot Award at theWillmar Auditorium as a part of the Veteran’sDay Observance.

The American Patriot Program Honor Award isan award given to honor military veteransthrough America’s pastime, baseball.

The award is designed to honor combat wound-ed veterans with a special, laser engravedbaseball bat. Alfred was the second Minnesotanto receive the award.

During the program, a brief summary of Alfred’sservice was presented by Jon Lindstrand, andthe award was presented by Wes Hazlett,national chairman of The American PatriotProgram.

In addition to the award, Alfred received a letterof appreciation from Minnesota Governor TimPawlenty, a special handmade fleece throw withhis branch of service on it, and other donateditems in honor of his service.

Marcus being presented theAmerican Patriot Award forhis service in World War II.

Above, the AmericanPatriot Programhonor award. Thisspecial laser engravedbat has his name,rank and branch ofservice on it.

At right is theCertificate ofAppreciation fromMinnesota GovernorTim Pawlenty.

The above article was run in theNovember 24, 2010 edition of theRaymond-Prinsburg News. Alfredwas extrememly proud of his recogni-tion. The photo at right shows thefour recipients of the award that night.each man was chosen to representthe different eras of service.

From left, John Housenick (Iraq War),Ron Mackedanz (Vietnam), GlenGauer (Korea) , and Alfred Marcus(World War II).

Each of the men was honored fortheir service as combat wounded vet-erans.

In November, 2014 Alfred wasawarded the French Legion ofHonor Medal. It is the highestaward that the FrenchGovernment can present.

A small presentation programwas held for Alfred at theschool in Prinsburg to bestowthe award upon him.

Shortly after the formal presenta-tion, Alfred traveled to Willmar toshow me firsthand what the medallooked like, and share a copy of theletter of issuance with USMHC.

Photo from the presentation ceremony from the Raymond-PrinsburgNews.

Alfred’s Legion of Honor Medal